PROVO, Utah, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The mouth to the Nutty Putty Cave in Utah County, Utah, was sealed with concrete after a 26-year-old man died in the cavern, an official said.
John Andrews, associate director for the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, said the entrance to the cave was sealed off Thursday, following efforts this week to block another entrance inside the cave by collapsing a portion of the ceiling, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday.
"It is permanently closed from our standpoint," said Andrews, whose administration owns the property containing the cavern.
The attempts to completely seal off the cave and its 1,400 feet of chutes and tunnels are in response to the death of John Jones.
Jones became trapped in the cave Nov. 25 and later died despite more than 135 people taking part in a 27-hour rescue effort, the Tribune said.
Utah County Undersheriff Mike Forshee told Salt Lake City's Deseret Morning News the concrete used to seal the cave's entrance is not permanent. If officials someday decide to reopen the cave, the concrete can be removed.
